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There’s a family of new COVID-19 variants in town, and at least one of them looks set to begin jostling for position at the top of the transmission stakes. They’ve been nicknamed the FLiRT variants, for reasons that will soon become clear. Here’s what we know about them so far. Advertisement If you’re thinking it’s […]

Bird flu seems to be perennially in the news at the moment, and with more and more species succumbing to the virus, concern around it is rife. While the infection normally spreads in avian species, it can also spill over into other animals, including humans, which has sparked fears of a global animal pandemic. What […]

A wild Sumatran orangutan has been seen chewing the leaves of the Akar Kuning plant and applying the juice to a wound on his cheek, the first time this has been reported. The process went on for seven minutes, until the wound was entirely covered, making clear it was deliberate, and the orangutan continued to […]

Ancient Mars is believed to have been a wet world. Possibly it was a cold world, with frosts and floods, rather than a tropical paradise. It might have had a denser carbon dioxide atmosphere too, and the composition of that atmosphere is now being called into question. That’s because chemical elements suggest that it could […]

In the latest turn of a political rollercoaster over the protection of gray wolves, the US House of Representatives voted on Tuesday to pass a bill that would see the animals removed from the Endangered Species Act (ESA). Advertisement The bill, dubbed the “Trust the Science Act”, was passed by a vote of 209-205. Introduced […]

In 2017, astronomers at the Pan-STARRS observatory looking for near-Earth asteroids spotted an object as it hurtled past our Sun at 38.3 kilometers per second (23.8 miles per second, or 85,700 miles per hour).  Advertisement Soon, telescopes around the world pointed in the unusual object’s direction, trying to capture as much data as they could […]

Long before governments had the power to ping citizens on their smartphones, the pre-Hispanic inhabitants of New Mexico’s Chaco Canyon used conch shell trumpets to send out population-wide notifications. According to new research, the ancient Chacoans may even have deliberately designed their settlements to ensure that everyone was within earshot of a sea-snail toot at […]

Aurorae on Mars are a whole other affair compared to the ones we have on Earth. The Red Planet doesn’t have a magnetic field, so part of the solar wind just slams into the thin Martian atmosphere, creating an ultraviolet light show. At least that’s what NASA’s MAVEN (Mars Atmosphere and Volatile EvolutioN) can see. […]

The Earth’s magnetic field has changed direction many times over millions of years, sometimes accompanied by temporary weakening. A much longer period in which the field diminished took place between 591 and 565 million years ago. Shortly thereafter, the first fossils of complex animals appear in the geologic record. A new study suggests it might […]

Animal smarts can be pretty impressive. From the frankly terrifying hunting strategies of orcas, to cats clever enough to solve cognitive puzzles, and even fish able to count, the creatures of planet Earth can surely give some humans a run for their money. But which species has the biggest brain – and is a big […]

A new vaccine strategy could spell the end of yearly flu shots, by targeting part of the virus that is much less prone to mutations. So far, it’s worked well in mice and ferrets – could we soon be looking at a human equivalent? Why do we need to get a flu vaccine every year? […]

It has come to our attention that a few people out there are a little confused why flying against the rotation of the Earth does not speed up flight times. Advertisement In a post, admittedly by someone who denies that the Earth is spinning, a confused person writes: Advertisement “Plane flying from east to west […]

Contrary to the popular stereotype, stoners aren’t lazy layabouts. At least, that’s the conclusion of a new study, which found that chronic cannabis users don’t appear to experience any reduction in motivation or willingness to exert effort as a result of their consumption. Advertisement The researchers recruited 260 weed smokers from Reddit, all of whom […]

Many of us are being exposed to chemicals linked to an increased risk of cancer, and a new study has found that they can be absorbed through our skin. The ironic part? They were originally intended to help save our lives. Advertisement Protecting our household items from bursting into flames seems like a no-brainer, right? […]

The black hole information paradox is one of those physics problems that can keep scientists up at night. It strikes at the heart of one of the crucial problems in modern physics: the fact that we can’t reconcile general relativity and quantum mechanics. And it is all black holes’ fault. Advertisement Both quantum mechanics and […]

Say hello to the potato bug. These giant flightless insects are also known as Jerusalem crickets, which is interesting because they are neither potatoes, bugs, nor crickets. Jerusalem crickets span two genera, meanwhile the name “potato bug” can refer to a Jerusalem cricket, a roly-poly, or a Colorado potato beetle. So it seems these massive […]

The more we search among the stars, the more we find potentially habitable planets. And yet to date, we have not found any conclusive signs of intelligent civilizations out there in the cosmos, begging the question: Where is everybody? Advertisement This is the basic question of the Fermi Paradox, to which scientists, philosophers, and science […]

Television dramas often thrive on families where siblings have personalities much more different from each other than people would assume. The same may be true for stars, at least giant ones, and the results could make scientific research on many aspects of astronomy more convoluted than the plot of a long-running series. Advertisement Occasionally a […]

The deepest blue hole in the world has been confirmed in Chetumal Bay, Mexico. Researchers estimate the Taam Ja’ Blue Hole has a depth of at least 420 meters (1,380 feet), but have yet to reach the bottom of the world’s deepest blue hole. What are blue holes? Blue holes like Taam Ja’ formed during […]

The Northern Hemisphere has reached that special time of year. Sun shining, flowers blooming, birds singing… and people sneezing. Pollen season, aka spring, is well and truly upon us. If you’re a hay fever sufferer, depending on the particular types of pollen that really get up your nose, you can now look forward to several […]